>> you don't want to sit next to them? >> if they are nice. but sometimes they go wow, you have big feet. >> and go down to disneyworld. >> we'll be back here tomorrow. noon eastern. "happening now" starts now. >> the u.s. launching a military strike aiming to take out a top terror leader. and the maun target not from isis or al-qaeda. this is "happening now". things in ukraine going from bad to worse. russian troops on the move, president putin flexing his muscles and reportedly saying his military could take kiev in two weeks. president obama heading to estonia today and how should the white house respond to russian aggression? we might get indication from the trip. >> and a major announcement from the cvc, regarding the strain of

ebola and where we are in the fight against the frightening disease. and now dangerous lightning. that is dangerous hail and we yet. and welcome to this second hour of "happening now". i am jon scott. >> i am marcel nevil in for jenna lee. >> a truck carrying al-qaeda fighters and six militants killed. we are waiting to hear if the leader was among them.

he has been responsible for a wave of attacks in somalia and including a shopping mall siege that killed people. jennifer griffin has the latest. >> the pentagon cannot confirm that the u.s. strike in somalia killed a mad and head in somalia. in 2012. the u.s. put a 7 million bounty on information leading to arrest. he trained them in training bases inside of somalia. and the u.s. airport fired missiles as he reportedly left a meeting. he is known as the mastermind of the kenyan mall bombing that left 67 people dead and terrorized the east africa

nation. no special operations teams were sent to carry out the attack. no american boots on the ground. and the air strike was conducted using an unmanned drone that fires missiles. officially the pentagon released the final statement from admiral kirby. u.s. military forces conducted an operation in somalia and we will assess and provide information as and when appropriate. privately u.s. officials say they are confident gadan was killed. but waiting for the hard evidence including dna and followers begin a period of mourning who serves as confirmation for the events on the ground. >> we are learning how much the

white house knew about the rise of isis in iraq and syria. for the past year, the president's daily briefing contained assessments of isis and any suggestion that the white house was surprised because of poor intel, are flat out wrong. kathryn has the story from washington. >> reporter: thank you, john. the official described the intelligence as specific and detailed and adding one conclusion that could be drawn by the data that the situation was bad. and after suggestions that the administration may have been blind sided by the rise of isis and poor intelligence was to blame some of the intelligence was so good couple hundred targets were defined when the president drou the redline in 2012. they had been tracking the

number of western passport holders traveling to syria and iraq. >> it is something that we have been monitoring in the news and something that counter terrorism officials were focused on for a number of months now. >> and rescue operation by james foley murdered by isis. and the former pentagon official hesitant to proceed and asking for the intelligence to build up more. >> it takes time to be informed enough to conduct that operation. intelligence is not perfect and layered over time. and not unlike the way you all do your jobs when you are working with sources. >> and just to be clear. the allegation that there was delay in the foley rescue operation was first reported by the sunday times of london. and we have provided new detail about that claim. and we are waiting for

a response from the national security council. and we'll have questions in at the white house briefing and pentagon briefing as well, john. >> more on that later today. thank you. >> and in just a couple of hours, president obama heads to europe for meetings with baltic and nato leaders. expected to focus on russia and ukraine. nato leaders are planning what they call a rapid reaction force that can deploy to the area within 48 hours. this as russian president vladimar putin is quoted saying he could take kiev in two weeks if he wanted. >> this is peter doocey with more. >> reporter: nato thinks they need a quick reaction force faster than the one in place and a new spear- head force would aim to put thousands of troops in to trouble spots around the

world and nato member nations within two days. the urgency driving the creation of the spearhead forces the russian invasion of ukraine. they are not a nato members but there are nato members that are bordered russia and worried about how quickly they will muscle across the ukraine borders one of them is estonia and that is where the president is heading this afternoon. and experts are calling estonia's nato's new front line. >> there is a great fear in the baltic states if push came to shove, they questioned if nato would have their back. i think it is clear not only with words and solidarity. but we have put u.s. soldiers and hardware in the balticj9v÷ states. >> the whole point of estonia stop to show the country that

nato has their backs. and the president will do a meet and greet with american and estonia troops. and when the president gets to wales the following day, the situation in ukraine will be the premier agenda item with all of the world leaders there especially that nato wound down their involvement in afghanistan. >> peter, thank you. >> meanwhile, there are plenty of other crisis unfolding overseas, from the kidnapping of u.n. soldiers in the go lanheights and a shaky ceasefire in mideast and is slammist taking over syria. this is not the time for the president to take a back seat. suicidal genocidal terrorist seeking the destruction of the united states. and a lack of western leader is starting with the president

himself. for more on this, karl rove, former white house deputy chief of staff and joe trippi is a former howard dean manager. and both are fox news contributors. ron is a old hand and saying there is a lack of presidential leadership. >> ron is followed by a lot of the inside of the beltway punditry. and it has a big affect. that column matters. he is right about the politics but i am not sure he's right about how the president is handling it. in other words, everything that the president is doingñ is working here. now mount singjar is gone and irbil is stand and this kurds are rearmed and pushing isil off the mosul dam and unlike other

administrations that got into things without thinking through the consequences, i think the president meant it about not because he wants to make sure we put as few americans at risk. the politics of that are bad though because everyone wants action now and wants isis stopped and any inability to act makes the president look weak. and i agree with what ron said about the political consequences even though i disagree with what i think the president is doing. >> carl, let's get your take. he said things are going the president's way? >> they are going the president's way, downhill. iraq is far less stable and he acknowledges that and we didn't have vladimar putin saying i will be in kiev in two weeks if

i want to. and what happened to the beautiful reset with russia and syria, three years ago the president said assad must go and no plan to do that. and the problem in iraq is because of the president's failure to act. remember the president's phrase of leading from behind? he is turned his back on trying to turn libya from a failed state governed by an islamist to a western democracy. he refused to lead in that. and one constant is either the failure of the president's policies and or the failure of the president's leadership. that's why approval ratings turned upside down and gotten only worse. >> we'll go back to ron forney's column. democrats have comforted themselves in polls shows that

americans want less involved in global affairs particularly military conflicts and belatedly they are recognizing an inconvenient truth. while people don't want him hawkish, they hate to see him weakish. joe, i know you have said that president obama is doing what he feels voters elected him to do. but the voters don'0a-ó÷ like te the russians over run a sovereignty country. >> that's right. they don't like seeing that and the fact that the president is not using military force which no american wants him to do in the ukraine. look, the ukraine. russia going into the ukraine is not a threat to the united states neither is isil in iraq and syria the americans who use their come here and

do harm, that's different than al-qaeda's had. but it is not extential threat to the united states of america and so the president is being much more methodical in his thinking than just going in with the military as past administrations have done carl being in one of those and being there ten years and no way to get out. and we are still iraq. and i am not rehashing the war, but i am saying if you measure him by his measurement, how many americans died in iraq and afghanistan since he withdrawn us. >> joe, joe, don't go there. don't go there. more americans died in afghanistan on this president's watch than predecessor. this is unworthy of you. the president failed to provide a global strategy. we are three years after he said

assad must g. what is the strategy? and what damage has he done to the power of the united states by saying something he had no intention to work upon. and if you don't think that russia moving in ukraine is a threat to the united states, you are kidding yourself. >> i said it is not an extential threat. >> you don't think isis in iraq is a threat to the united states you are kidding yourself. these are people who want to destroy our allies and half of america. what kind of threat do you need to have? >> since march 2011 no american died in combat in iraq not with throwing isil off of the mosul dam. >> joe, joe, in march of this year for the first time no american was killed in afghanistan or iraq. >> joe, you are the one who, joe

with all due respect, you brought up the issue of somehow or another bush was wrong because more people died in afghanistan. >> the computer is going to take us over. gentleman. >> that's what you said, joe. that's just what you said. your 16-year-old daughter

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call liberty mutual for a free quote today at see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. "happening now" volcano eruption in iceland. it came to life on sunday. scientist warn of a violent eruption coming in a few days. there has been no ash which is good news for airline passengers. and a different eruption erupted in 2010. and forcing the cancellation worldwide. and we are learning new details about the deadly ebola outbreak.

head of centers for disease control is back and what he found is disturbing. john roberts in cvc headquarters with more. john, can you tell us? >> to say the least arthel. cvc director had hit a dire assessment and calling the ebola outbreak out of control. he went to liberia and sierra leon and new guinea and visited ebola patients. and a global response is needed to build treatment centers and train medical personnel and he said that response is needed now. >> speed is key. the number of cases is increasing so quickly that for every day's delay, it becomes that much harder to stop it.

and at the same time breaking news, the american medical. treated down the street for ebola and simreported that another one of its doctors working in liberia came down with ebola and what is troubling he was not treating ebola patients and he contracted it some other way. he is in isolation and doing well. japan is dealing with the first outbreak of denghi fever. and 20 people have come down with it after being bitten by mosquitoes. we should point out there is benghi fever and an out break in martin county florida last year. and this year, only one person

coming down with denghi. and though the mosquito is prevalent that carries it. so far only cases are in florida. >> thanks so much. >> and the family of comedian joanne rivers hope for a miracle and comtemplating a lawsuit against the medical practice that performed her throat surgery. and the fate of governor mcdonnell in the hands of the jury now.

>> doctors are expected to waken joan rivers from a coma today but remains if she will be able to fully recover from the throat

procedure that sent her in cardiac arrest. and the family is said to be considering a lawsuit. with us is doug burns and a lise wheel. and so i will start wuon this one. the family is considering suing the clinic where there is routine throat procedure took place. and so i ask, how strong is the case. you know, you go for the in office procedures. >> what you don't sign off on. you are in a hospital clinic and don't sign off on the ability to treat you with gross negligence. that is below the standard of care in any facility, then they may have a case. but when they are considering, that is well put. we don't know enough about the facts to it know if they have a case. >> doug, what do you think?

>> to draw a legal standard, did they breach the standard of care. conversely it could be caused by negligence or gross negligence. >> first of all, we wish for joan rivers to recover. and she is part of our american culture. but how do you, if there is sort of negligence on the part of the doctor and of the clinic, how do you prove that? they will be trying to protect themselves? >> it comes down to discovery and a lawsuit. and assert they were negligence and start getting the forms. and was a mistake made like the movie the verdict and that's the time ofu(árr'g that will not be shown in discovery. >> and things going on at the time and making records of what is going on.

and now we are doing this and that. and some of them are not televised. and with the doctors and nurses know. >> we'll move on to a high profile qd9919ñ corruption trial of former virginia governor bob mcdonnell and his wife maureen. they are accused of taking bribes for a sketchy nutritional supplement. >> and talk about the key arguments and where jurors might agree or disagree. >> the defense on both of their parts is a husband and wife team, and i say that loosely. blame the wife. these because we had a terrible marriage we couldn't talk much less than consphire. it could get them both off and here's why. she is the exgovernor's wife.

when she was the governor's wife. it is a title and ceremonial and not really an official. and he is off and so is he. >> got more legally sophisticated. and they want the judge to instruct the jury that anything she got is all right. and come back by the prosecutors in the closing arguments. they consphired and did it together. >> and she was greedy according to the husband. and apparently all of the time before the pretrial hearings they were holding hands and now they are not doing that. >> and you know with the jury, it is predominently male. >> does people want others to

throw the other spouse under the bus? and records said he was involved in the loans and knew what was going on and it was not just the husband. >> i think the jury will look at this as a gambit and he was all family values. and is there anything about the jurors know about this and they can't take it. they will be mad at the defense. >> you are always legally sophisticated. >> just in between us. >> and fantastic. >> and russian troops are on the move as nato leaders join force to prevent a full on war between russia and ukraine. how it could become america's responsibility. >> and severe storms show no mercy. lightning and rain and tornados. where this system is headed

next. also september worst month of the year for stocks. should you be worried? it could impact your bottom line.

>> a fox news alert. it has happen american. stephen kidnapped by isis, a little more than a year ago has been beheaded by the isis terrorist. the cite intelligence group

monitors developments in the middle east they say in a video of the beheading was posted on line within the 6iixhour. the white house is some what aware of the developments. and looking for confirmation and this is what he heard. >> our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. and those who worked with him. the united states as you know has dedicated significant time and resources to try and rescue stephen sotlaf. a journalist for time magazine and kidnapped in syria.

and beheaded by the isis group we'll see what the reaction is in the white house. this is a fox news alert. >> this is a fox extreme weather alert. we are watching the chanceçtp&ñ severe storms from the ohio valley all the way to new york. take a look now at this storm chaser and shooting video of a tornado just outside of the small town of cedarville, kansas. iowa, a spectacular light show. that lightning getting close to the storm chasers there and in michigan, heavy rains and flooding problems in the detroit area. 13,000 people were without power. our meteorologist jd has more. >> hi, arthel. 1)aú there is a powerful cold front moving in the ohio valley to the

northeast. we could see large hail and damaging winds and isolated tornados and the showers firing up ahead of the cold front and the potential for severe weather exist later on this afternoon for big cities in the northeast. as the front continues to move through, there is severe shaded in yellow to pittsburg and syracuse. you could see hail damaging winds and isolatt tornados. and tropical storm dolly fourth moving in mexico. and the threat for heavy rain and wind could cause mud slides and south texas will get a bit of rain out of this and the bulk of the rainfall in mexico. and we are hitting peak season in the tropics. september 11th is when we see the activity. we are watching the pacific and this is our latest main storm and continues to move away from

land. and however, we are going to see the potential for heavy wind and waves all over the westfw coas back to you. >> janice dean, busy day back in the weather center. back to you. >> fox news alert. in the last hour. american journal stefven sotloff was beheaded in syria by isis terrorist in the same manner of james foley beheaded a week ago. with more for us now. elane burr man. everybody feared the worst for sotloff and the united states is making inroads against isis and has them angry and they want to turn our stomachs essentially by killing another american in the

barbaric way imaginable? >> i think that is right. but it goes beyond that. what you are looking at is a continued message from isis to the united states. the administration has been very leery to talk about the fact that with the foley beheading, isis was trying to send a message to the united states, that it is coming and irreconcilably opposing the united states. we talk about it being a internal message. but the message today with the foley beheading and sotloff beheading is they are coming. >> our reaction is supposed to be what? they beheaded james foley and said you don't stop your campaign we'll do the same thing

to steven sotloff and now they have done. that and part of the messaging to us. they were trying to deter us from acting. clearly the struggle is broader than one person. and for isis, it is a matter of the credibility. now they have said there will be consequences for continued military action that they follow-through. it is part of a larger conversation. >> does it suggest that we are effective in the military and air campaign that accomplished things like taking back the mosul dam from isis. and release the yazidises. and release the turkmen? >> no question we are successful on a tactical level. but should be talking strategy here. the administration said it "doesn't have a strategy yet"

for dealing with isis. the reason it is leery to talk about this. a long- term strategy means going back to iraq and prop up a stable government and deny the political breathing room for isis. that is a long- term project. >> obviously american stomachs are turned when we see the kind of thing they are releasing and what is the propaganda value and affect of taking the heads off innocent journalist? >> it is very clear. in much of the same way al-qaeda would flout the western laws of war post 9/11, that isis is taking a stand and demonstrating that what it is doing is deadly, serious and willing to go to all lengths imaginable in the attempt to recreate and hold its new callaph at.

and also u.s. soldiers or civilians are fair game. it is a warning. >> with both of these men with james foley and steven sotloff they dress them in bright orange jail uniforms and trying to tie the barbaric kinds of treatment that they give our prisoners to the good treatment that we have given to islamic prisoners at gitmo. >> there is part of that. and that makes for good imagery and colors pop and they are prisoners in gitmo. and a larger narrative taking place here. unlike the united states and countries of the west. al-qaeda and isis have no interest in following the

againeva convention and civilized warfare. for them it is all out combat. >> i want to bring in bret baier anchor of special report. obviously the white house spokesman with prelimary words and reaction on the barbaric act. what are you hearing from the white house now? >> not so much in the white house. it came through in the briefing and so developing as the udenqp)nest could not say much r than the prayers went to the family there and working to authenticate it is true. intelligence officials had told us that this may have been in the works for a few days and this may have happen days ago and that the video takes time to surface. and that the confirmation today.

and another image like james foley that shoes the brutality of isis and their goals and this is a signal and they are using it for a propaganda tool. what is happening about isis and the u.s. policy and going after isis is really the question. in iraq it is not in question. there are dozens and dozens of u.s. air strikes that had an affect on isis. but in syria, that is the question going forward. and the president's signalled that they had no strategy to take out isis in syria as of yet. >> the latest air strikes alongside britain and other countries, the locals there are saying that they are fighting alongside the local militia and crediting them with the success. and as the u.s. contemn plates

moving forward with air strikes in syria, they are cautioned by the who is alongside the fighters that they are trying to back. does this play into the statemnt further with one more barbaric act by isis? >> sure, this is all this giant global geo political three dimensional chest. there is a lot of different parts to this. and the horrific act of the beheading obviously takes front and center right now as the video surfaces and you have a battle between sunni and shiite that is century's old and that continues in the middle east. and then the moderates versus the extremist and that's what prime minister cameeron talking about. the extremist ideology that is the start of isis. >> we'll take you over to the state department where the

spokeswoman is answering questions about the beheading of ste ven sotloff. >> do you know when you were made aware of this? was it before the extremist monitoring group put it out or was the intel community aware of that? >> i am not sure there is more i am able to say, matt. >> go ahead. >> i will defer to james. >> does the obama administration consider this an act of war? >> we have not put new labels on it, james. we certainly consider the reported act. the act of the killing of james foley as a horrific terrorist act, that we certainly have, has not helped, or been one of the motivating factors in the effort for the international coalition

to address this. >> we have on the books, two american journalist beheaded by the group is there any doubt on your part and the administration that the united states is at war with isis. >> i want to be careful here, we have not confirmed through the proper processes and i need to restate 99f;wthat, speaking on f of the u.s. government. i am not going to put labels on it. i think it is clear that we are concerned about the threat of isil to western interest and interest in the region and that's why the secretary and president and secretary hagel are all working every contact they have to continue to build a coalition to address the threat. >> will this event make any difference in our planning visa ve air strikes against isis. >> there is a range of factors that are taken into account

including the interest of the united states. i will not readout further what the president will be looking at that. but we are looking at a range of factors. >> i want to address one more way. >> go ahead. >> a lot of americans are sitting at home and seeing journalist beheaded by the group overseas, and from a common sense point of view, the average american will say to himself, this group is at war with us, why does our president or secretary of state not recognize that say indeed we are at war with this group and we will destroy them? >> our actions speak for our commitment to this the president has authorized more than 100 strikes in iraq confirmed by the department of defense. part of it is to take on the threat of isil and we are leading the effort and the

united states has done more than any other country in the world whether humanitarian or military efforts to take on the threat in iraq. i think any american sitting at home should sit and look at actions we are taking. it is not a useful exercise to go back and forthwith new terms. what is important is what we are doing about it? and what the secretary will do in a couple of weeks is action in that regard. >> gen, i felt that the authorization for air strikes was not necessarily to take on the threat of isil except that it relate tots humanitarian situation to the yazidis and turkmen community and protect u.s. diplomat and personnel and facilities. you would argue that goes to also taking on the threat or the

broader threat they pose to american civilians and brits, and other nationalities? >> one, that is only part of our effort. speaking to that particular point, obviously impacting the capabilities of isil in iraq, because of the concern of humanitarian issues, whether it is ama iril. safety of the american citizens. there is an impact on the capabilities. >> those are the actions that are taken in iraq and what was part of iraq, this i mean, the foley video, and this one presumably looks similar, i was under the impression that people were generally of the opinion it was filmed in syria.

>> i think regardless, isil has not differentiated between geographical boundaries. there is a range of options that the president will consider. we have already taken to defend the united states interests. >> to date the administration has only publicly at least confirmed one operation inside syria and that was the rescue mission. >> that's correct. >> so the argument that you are taking on the threat of isil with the president's authorization for those two specific things, humanitarian and protection of u.s. personnel facilities, would apply only to iraq at the moment, correct? >> correct. >> not to syria. >> that's correct. that's only part of our effort and obviously isil on the threat it poses to the region has a trickle out effect from iraq, from syria and other places. the second piece, which is also vitally important is our effort

to build an international coalition. a number of countries have taken steps, humanitarian steps, steps to provide military equipment in iraq as a result and we'll continue those discussions. >> all within iraq and nothing within syria which is where this problem began. >> i understand. >> a lot of people would suggest the administration -- the president's reluctance to do more to oppose the extremists in syria has resulted in this situation. >> in what capacity? >> well, i mean, they became a major fighting force and rolled over the border -- >> when you say this situation, what are you referring to? >> i'm referring to widespread criticism in the foreign policy community or whatever. even outside of that community that not enough was done to fight this threat while it was

relatively contained within syria and that's why it has mushroomed out. >> i would disagree with that. i think there's obviously several components of this which is why it's a complicated issue. one is the threat of isil has grown and their strength has grown over the last several months. our assistance has grown over the course of time to the moderate opposition in syria but also to the iraqi security forces. we've also undergone several efforts over the course of that time to address this threat. it's not as if our response to this is new. their growth has been increasing over the last several months as has our existence and our effort combat it. >> they say that bases in syria are not being struck if they themselves have -- they say that

the border cease to exist. >> i won't rule options on or off the table. the president has prerogative to make decisions. there are a range of contingency options. that's always the case. i won't get ahead of where we are. we've been clear that the geography is not going to limit our options but there's no new decision to announce. >> do we have any kind of figure or any kind of data on how much isis capabilities have been debilitated by these strikes? >> i don't have statistics in that regard. >> have you been in touch with the sotloff family this morning? >> these reports just came out. >> i don't know if you saw in the video that they are threujjt to kill british that they are holding. do you have any information? >> i don't have additional information to provide. if that changes over the course of the afternoon or evening,

we're happy to provide it. >> have you already been in contact with your counterparts in london on this? >> again, this happened in the last -- the reports came out publicly in the last 30 minutes or so. i would have to check and see if there have been contact. i'm certain that one of the first calls we would make is to the u.k. which wouldn't be a surprise. >> what is the legal authority under which president obama has launched the more than 100 air strikes that you just referenced? >> in iraq? the iraqi government has invited the united states in to help them address this threat and that's the legal authority. >> he's reported to congress on this subject, has he not? >> yes. >> under what statute? >> he does war powers acts every time there's a need to notify congress. >> so we have a commander in chief that launched more than 100 air strikes at a given enemy who is reporting to the congress under the war powers act who is watching our people beheaded by

this enemy but who for some reason feels queasy about saying that we are in fact at war with this enemy? >> i won't put new words into the mouth of the president of the united states. my point is that his actions to authorize these strikes, his effort to send secretary kerry, secretary hagel, any resource we have in the united states to lead the building of a coalition speaks to his commitment to take on this threat. of course we want to see isil destroyed. that's not an overnight effort. >> can i ask one more thing about the administration's broader thinking on isil/isis. is it still the administration's position that it is president assad who is to blame for the growth of this group and its mushrooming? >> in syria, yes. he's been a magnet for terrorism, that certainly has not changed in our view. our position. >> okay. so without assad there, you

think that this would have been different? this wouldn't have happened? i realize it's a hypothetical. i realize you can't prove a negative. you believe if assad had been gone years ago, isil, isis would not have gained the foot hole that it has. >> they have been provided with a safe haven that added to their strength. the attraction of individuals that have aligned with them have been in part the result of the brutality and actions the regime has taken. >> you believe that safe haven was provided by president assad? >> you are the president of a country where some of these terrorists -- >> the argument of his allies, russians and iranians is it's

not him that provided a safe haven but by supporting his opponents, you all have made it, you know, turned it into this instability and extremism. >> matt, i think there's a bit of revisionist history going on with an individual who has brutally killed almost 200,000 of his own people. there has been a building of opposition to him over the course of the last several years. the direction that that results in is of course we're also concerned about the growth of isil. >> one of your allies, turkey, has allowed these fighters to go in almost unchecked to this area and basically congregate and create this kind of force? isn't it true? >> i'm not sure what you're reference referencing. >> turkey is one of your allies, it's a nato ally, strong friend

of the united states. many fighters that go into syria that morphed into isis have come through their border. >> we work closely with turkey to address this threat and to also work closely on counterterrorism efforts. i don't have@xñ anything more f you. >> do you think that turkey is incapable of controlling its border? >> not at all what i said. >> the u.s. is asking turkey to seal the border with syria. did you have any kind of response from turkey or any -- >> i don't have anything new for you on that. >> about the global coalition you have been talking about, is there any detail right now how building this coalition is going on? >> it's important for everyone to note that there are already steps that a range of countries have taken to address this

threat in iraq but we're talking about the threat of isil. i would give you just a couple examples which you are familiar with. it's worth noting. canada has to provide -- >> state department spokeswoman there tap dancing around a bombardment of questions including from our own james rosen. i thought it was interesting when they said it's clear that we are concerned about the threats of isil to the region. you compare that with what president obama had to say in that new york magazine interview back in january. isil is suddenly of great concern to this administration. >> i think you add this to the reporting that has different officials confirming that the presidential daily brief had very detailed and granular in source's words layout of the threat from isis in syria and throughout the region for at least a year.

no policy maker in those words of those sources could come away thinking this isn't bad. you think about that and then the questioning at the state department about whether to call this an act of war or not. you saw the spokesperson not wanting to in her words get into semantics but bottom line is this is war with this group. >> steven sotloff has reportedly given his life. thank you for joining us. "the real story" with gretchen carlson starts now. >> thanks. we start with fox news alert. you've been listening to the state department briefing. we are awaiting right now a pentagon briefing. that's going to start momentarily. we'll bring that to you live as well. a lot going on today on this day